The founders and finance : how Hamilton, Gallatin, and other immigrants forged a new economy

"In 1776 the United States government started out on a shoestring and quickly went bankrupt fighting its War of Independence against Britain. At the war's end, the national government owed tremendous sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens. But lacking the power to tax, it had no means to repay them. The Founders and Finance is the first book to tell the story of how foreign-born financial specialists--immigrants--solved the fiscal crisis and set the United States on a path to long-term economic success. Pulitzer Prize--winning author Thomas K. McCraw analyzes the skills and worldliness of Alexander Hamilton (from the Danish Virgin Islands), Albert Gallatin (from the Republic of Geneva), and other immigrant founders who guided the nation to prosperity. Their expertise with liquid capital far exceeded that of native-born plantation owners Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, who well understood the management of land and slaves but had only a vague knowledge of financial instruments--currencies, stocks, and bonds. The very rootlessness of America's immigrant leaders gave them a better understanding of money, credit, and banks, and the way each could be made to serve the public good. The remarkable financial innovations designed by Hamilton, Gallatin, and other immigrants enabled the United States to control its debts, to pay for the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and--barely--to fight the War of 1812, which preserved the nation's hard-won independence from Britain."--Jacket.Ler mais...

St. Croix and trauma --
New York and promise --
War and heroism --
Love and social status --
The roots of his thinking --
Robert Morris, Hamilton, and finance --
The Constitution --
New government, old debt --
The fight over the debt --
The bank of the United States --
Diversifying the economy --
Tensions and political parties --
The decline --
The duel --
Choosing the new world --
Moving to the west --
Entering politics --
Becoming Jeffersonian --
The climb to power --
Debt, armaments, and Louisiana --
Developing the west --
Embargo and frustration --
Dispiriting diplomacy --
The fate of the bank --
Financing the wayward war --
Winning the peace --
His long and useful life --
Immigrant exceptionalism? --
Comparisons and contingencies --
Capitalism and credit --
The political economy of Hamilton and Gallatin.

Responsabilidade:

Thomas K. McCraw.

Resumo:

In 1776 the U.S. owed huge sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens but, lacking the power to tax, had no means to repay them. This is the first book to tell the story of how foreign-born financial specialists--the immigrant founders Hamilton and Gallatin--solved the fiscal crisis and set the nation on a path to long-term economic prosperity.Ler mais...

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McCraw sheds light on personalities and policies in this overview of the development of early American finance. The newly independent United States 'had long been bankrupt'; both the fledgling national government and the states were in hock for the War of Independence... Hamilton's decisive advocacy of a national bank and assumption of state war debts laid the basis for economic expansion and cemented the dominance of federal power. McCraw then turns to Gallatin's ascendancy in Congress, where in 1796 he denounced the growth in the national debt and decried high military spending. Starting with the still-resonant contrast between the 'big government' Hamilton and 'small government' Gallatin, McCraw's wealth of historical data should interest any lay historian, particularly when he presents the many 'what if's.' Publishers Weekly 20120806 Only two men are honored with statues outside the U.S. Treasury building: Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin. McCraw explores their qualities, foibles, achievements, and failures in order to show why both deserve credit for laying the foundations of American governmental finance...McCraw is a talented storyteller. His highly readable and fascinating work portrays the brilliance of Hamilton and Gallatin against the difficulty of their time and is strongly recommended to all readers interested in American and financial history. -- Lawrence Maxted Library Journal (starred review) 20120901 If you think the current system is a mess, consider the national economy after the American Revolution... A welcome addition to business and financial history, illuminating little-known aspects of the early republic. Kirkus Reviews 20120915Ler mais...